Home Free

Conventional wisdom says, "Don't pay off your mortgage early." Are you foolish to consider an early payoff? Absolutely not! By adding just $50 to $100 to your mortgage payment every month, you can save thousands of dollars in interest, pay off your loan quicker, and eliminate a major monthly expense.

The argument usually given against paying off a mortgage early is that you can make investments with your extra cash, such as mutual funds, stocks or bonds, which pay higher returns. This approach enables you to take the mortgage interest deduction and have easy access to your money, in case you need it. These are all definite pluses, but are not guaranteed savings results.

Any extra income which an investment might generate above your home equity appreciation can be offset by a bad year in the investment market. Investment earnings can virtually eliminate the income tax advantage of your mortgage interest deduction, since stocks and bonds are likely to generate a fair amount of dividends, interest income and capital gains.

It isn't as simple as conventional wisdom--consult a financial expert.